In Too Deep
by Lattelady
Summary: A piece of fluff that is in response to the Archer/T'Pol hot tub/hot springs challenge at the Archer Site. Steamer sections are written by Jen Kirkwood.


Disclaimer:  All things Trek belong to TPTB.  We've only borrowed them for a little while.

Challenge:  This is in response to the hot tub/hot springs challenge on Archer's Site. 

Rating:  R

Co-Author:  My friend Jennifer Kirkwood helped me by writing the steamer sections of this story.

In Too Deep

**_By_**

Jen & Latte 

****

Enterprise had been in orbit of a Minshara Class planet for three days.  Though it was much like Earth, it had proved to be uninhabited.  Archer had decided that it would be a good place to stock up on some much-needed supplies, and to give the crew some shore leave.  Working in shifts everyone was able to spend 24 hours away from the confines of the ship, all except their resident Vulcan, who chose to stay behind.

"Archer to Sub-Commander T'Pol."  He looked around at the beauty of the beach and sighed.  He was determined to get her off the ship for a while, and this was his last chance, because tomorrow at 0800 they were due to leave orbit.

"T'Pol here, Captain."  Even though she had been covering both her station and communications, to allow the humans extra time off the vessel, she had not been busy.  Once all the data from the minimal scientific finds had been entered in the ship's computer, there had been little for her to do.  Though she had spent an hour going quickly through the levels of one of the logic training tools she had found in the computer.  It consisted of 52 cards, divided into groups with 4 different markings.  The object was to rearrange them from a random stack, into four rows, from highest to lowest.

"I'm bringing Hoshi up on the next shuttle run, to take over your station. I want you to be prepared to spend some time off Enterprise."

"I've already spent two hours off the ship, that was all I needed to gather my data." She carefully tapped the computer to send a seven of clubs onto and eight of clubs.

Jon rolled his eyes in exasperation.  The damn woman could be stubborn when she wanted to be, but so could he. "Good, then there's no reason why you can't come down here and stretch your legs a bit.  The ocean is beautiful and there're a number of tide pools and inland lakes, you could even swim."

"Swim?"  The science officer shook her head at the folly of the idea and nodded in satisfaction when she tapped the computer and the ace of hearts landed on the two of hearts, causing the entire run to fold and neatly stack on the lower left side of the screen.  "Why would I want to do that?"

It was the last straw.  He had had enough of her evasions, and he could tell her mind wasn't on the conversation at hand.  "Do I need to make that an order Sub-Commander?"

"Captain," T'Pol quickly sent a jack of spades over to cover the queen, as she thought how to phrase her answer.  No matter what she said it was going to displease him, given his addiction to thrashing about in water over his head.  "Vulcans do not swim."  She nodded assuming that would end the conversation, but as she manipulated her next card, made the mistake of adding, under her breath.  "I do not know how."

"What!"  Archer looked at his communicator to be sure he had heard her correctly.  "Then it's time you learned."  He gritted his teeth to keep his temper in check.  He knew that Vulcan was a desert planet with its water supply from deep beneath the surface, but he had assumed that its people who were stationed on water planets had been taught basis life saving techniques.  "Hoshi'll be there to relieve you soon.  Archer out!"  He quickly closed his communicator before she could argue with him.

An hour later Ensign Sato handed over a small bag to T'Pol.  "Sorry, Ma'am." She realized the Vulcan was being railroaded, but there was nothing she could do about it.  "Since we're about the same height, I've put my extra bathing suit in there for you.  I figured it'd be better than what I could find in ship's stores."

"That is good of you, but I do not wish to learn how to swim."  She took the bag from the young Ensign and looked around the bridge once more.  There was no reason for her to stay any longer.

"I doubt you'll talk the Captain out of it."  Hoshi shrugged.  "It really is a matter of safety.  What if we had to ditch one of the shuttlepods in the water?"

"Your point is well taken.  But it is unforturnate you have to cut your leave short." 

"No problem Sub-Commander.  I was looking for a good excuse to come back up to Enterprise and sleep in my own bed.  I don't like camping, no matter how comfortable Commander Tucker says it is."  Trip was not a matter she wished to discuss so she quickly changed the subject.  "The Captain said for me to tell you this is the last run for the night, so you should grab what you'll need from your quarters.  He's waiting for you in the shuttle bay."

 "Thank you Ensign for the loan of the bathing costume."  T'Pol cleared her throat.  "The science and communication stations are yours. Please inform Captain Archer I shall be with him directly."  She nodded and stood even straighter than usual, as she left the bridge.  

"Good luck," Hoshi called just as the lift doors were about to close.  It had taken all her willpower to keep from chuckling until the Vulcan had disappeared.

……………………..

Archer had found a pool heated from an underground spring, about a kilometer inland from beachfront camp that had been set up three days ago.  He didn't want T'Pol's first experience swimming to take place in cold rough water.  The area was secluded and there were large rock formations that allowed each to change their clothes in private. There was the added advantage of a waterfall at the far end of the pool.  It would allow them to rinse off when they were done.  He'd discovered when he was checking the pool for depth, that its water contained a large amount of saline.

"T'Pol, you about ready?"  He called from the small rock ledge above the hot springs.  The water was clear and inviting and he couldn't wait to get in.

"This garment does not seem to have sufficient material."  She walked out from behind the rocks frowning as she tugged at the legs of the suit to keep it from riding up.  "Ensign Sato and I may be about the same height, but for some reason her suit does not fit adequately."

"You're a bit longer in the waist than Hoshi is."  Archer fought to keep from smiling.  That wasn't the only difference, but he could hardly go into specifics.  He was struck by how beautiful she looked. Her skin was like honey and his hand itched to touch her.  "Don't worry, you're decent, after all, you wear a lot less in decon."

"Captain…" Suddenly T'Pol forgot what she was about to say.  She looked at Jonathan for the first time since they had changed.  He was four feet away from her, wearing little more than the shorts she saw him wear in the gym.  But something about him looked very different.  Maybe it was the relaxed smile on his face, or the way the late afternoon sun shown on his skin.  She swallowed a lump in her throat.  _This was not anything like decon, at least not any decon she'd ever experienced._

"T'Pol?"  He stepped closer and in a test of his willpower touched her shoulder.  She was staring at him with the strangest look on her face.  "You don't have to be afraid, I've done this before."

"I'm sure you have."  Standing as close as they were, she caught his scent and it was intoxicating.  "It is just that I have not." _Was this what she had been trying to avoid by_ _refusing shore leave_.  They had grown too close over the last months, once they took the final step there would be no turning back for either of them.

"All the more reason for us to take it slow and easy."  He nodded his head; _suddenly very_ _sure they were no longer talking about swimming. _ The green fire that burned in her eyes made him want to test that theory, but he had to be true to his word, so he took her hand and headed toward the warm swirling water.

He stood on the rock ledge that surrounded the pool and did a shallow dive into the middle of its clear depths.  _This was his world_.  In many ways it reminded him of space, he was almost weightless and could move easily.  He often imagined he could feel individual water molecules gliding against his skin. It had always relaxed and excited him at the sometime.  As he did a few brisk strokes across the pool and back again, he realized that he wanted very much to share this part of himself with T'Pol.  _He realized that this was way he had wanted her to take shore leave._

"Your turn now."  Archer looked up at the Vulcan sitting on the rocks above him and reached up to help her into the water.  "Don't worry, it's not over your head."  He smiled as his hands encircled her waist and hers reached for his shoulders.

As she sliced into the water inches away from him, a little mewing sound escaped her lips. "It is warmer than I had anticipated."  She shivered as her cooled body was enveloped by wet heat, making goose bumps form on her shoulders and the bust line of the suit fill out more pointedly than before.

"We'll stay at this end."  Archer forced himself to let go of her.  He realized that unless they were very careful, things could get out of control quickly.  Searching his conscience, for ulterior motives, he was relieved to discover that he'd planned a swimming lesson, not a seduction, but that didn't help him any, as he envied the water that lapped around the slope of her breasts. Clearing his throat he moved a step away to put some distance between them.  "But be careful, about ten feet from the base of the falls, the bottom drops away quickly, and it gets quite deep."

"I shall keep that in mind, Captain."  Even to her own ears, her voice sounded breathy and shallow.  She kept telling herself it was from the unfamiliar sensation of being completely surrounded by water, but it was becoming more difficult to keep a tight lid on the emotions that were threatening to spill out.  

"First you need to get used to the feel of something that's completely different."  He couldn't take his eyes off of her.  He had desired her for a long time, and there had been occasions when he suspected that she was looking back at him with the same fire.  Now standing in this pool on an unknown planet, it seemed as if all pretense had been stripped away.

She gently moved her hands and arms back and forth across the surface, mesmerized by the touch of the water as it rippled away from her.  Unbeknownst to her, she sent small waves that had been intimately touching her to lick at his chest and arms. "I think I see why you like this _swimming_ so much, Jonathan." 

"And this is only the beginning."  He smiled at her as she looked up at him.  Yes, this situation was definitely taking them in a whole new direction.  "Take my hands and on the count of three, I want you to hold your breath and together we'll duck under the water."

"You want us to go under?" 

"I'll keep you safe.  Once you realize there is nothing to fear, it makes it easier."  He took her much smaller hands in his and waited until he saw her nod in agreement before he bagan the count.

As they dropped beneath the surface, the last thing T'Pol saw were deep green eyes that she trusted.  Then warm water pressed against every inch of her body and rippled against her face and through her hair.  She gripped tighter to the hands that were anchoring her and forced her mind to relax.  She was doing fine until she opened her eyes.  The pain from salt water against delicate corneas, caused her to gasp, and she gagged on water as she fought to pull her hands free.  Her only thought was to get to the surface, and free her eyes of the feeling of sandpaper.  She was momentarily disorientated as she struggled, her logic shouting at her that she needed air.

Suddenly arms came around her back and looped under her knees. Jonathan picked her up and held her on the surface.  "Easy, you're okay, I've got you." He pulled her closer as she coughed and sputter, but it caught him by surprise when she wrapped her arms around his neck and rubbed her face against his chest.

"That was a most unpleasant experience."  She gasped, but didn't let go of him as she blinked her eyes.

"I should have warned you to keep your eyes closed."  He let her legs drop back down and nearly moaned as her body brushed against his. 

"I am fine now, thank you, but I have always thought it wise to see what is in front of me."  She looked up at him hardly able to breath, but it had nothing to do with the water that had so recently filled her nose or the saline her eyes. The contour of his body was ridged against her belly and she was filled with a heat she thought never to experience.

"And do you see?  See what's in front of you, that is."  His hand moved slowly up and down her back.  If they didn't pull away soon, they would be in over their heads and there would be no going back.

She shook her head no, unable to form words, as her hips moved of their own accord, making him gasp at the contact.  "But I can feel it," she whispered, finally acknowledging what had been building for months. She was caught in a grip she didn't understand. Something made her want to feel him surrounding her as she surrounded him_.  It made no sense, it was illogical, it was the very basis of truth, and she thought she was going to die if it didn't happen._

"T'Pol, is this what you really want?"  Jonathan gave her one more chance to turn back, before they got in to deep. A rough hunger gripped him.  He had cared about her, and wanted her for so long he could hardly believe she was really there with him; their bodies brushing together, wrapped in a need so strong it was overpowering.

"I believe it is why we are both here."  She murmured as she ran her nose against his chest, enjoying the feel of his skin, and the tickle of hair that her hand itched to touch.  His scent was warm and familiar.  Suddenly she realized that all that had come before had been leading to this moment, and this man.  All of her decisions, and planning had meant nothing.  Her struggle of the last months seemed illogical now that she realized her whole life had been pointed toward this.  Why else would she treasure T'Mir's purse and journal, why else would she have failed the first time with Menos, why else would she have been sent to Earth, then assigned to Enterprise, why else would she have denied tradition and Koss?  The answer rang loudly in her ears: _Jonathan._    

He was gripped by desire and longing that he had been denying too long.  "You just may be right about that."  His whisper moved over her face as he lowered his mouth to hers.  Suddenly her mind filled his with a picture of them writhing together, naked in the pool. "That's what you really want?"  He couldn't stop the question from slipping out.  He had wanted her for so long, he needed to know that this wasn't all something he had invented out of his own needs.

"Yes.  I knew for sure that night you came to me to tell me that Admiral Forrest was not going to recall Enterprise.  When you knelt beside my bed, if you had touched me I would not have been able to let you go."  She dropped her mental shields and let him see all that she had felt then, and was feeling now.  "Please Jonathan, don't make me wait any longer."  To add strength to her argument, her hands began to wander toward the waistband of his swimming trunks.

"No longer, for either of us, Love."  He murmured as he reached for the straps of her suit and pulled, ripping the material where it fastened above her breasts. Her soft moans filled his ears and her short nails dug into his buttocks, as his right hand moved where the suit had been.

Their minds fused in the heat created by their bodies. _"You have done this before, Love." Echoed from her to him._

_"You had doubts?" His mind smiled back at hers. "The action is the same, but it is very different, because it was never with you." _

His thoughts excited her.  He had awaked the sleeping passions of a Vulcan and her blood ran hot as she caressed and touched him everywhere she could.  Her teeth nipped at his shoulder and her lips sucked at the tender spot at the base of his neck

_"Easy Love." His mind whispered to hers, as he pulled back on the frantic pace she tried to set. "Part of the joy is in savoring each step along the way."_

_"But I want…" Her mind filled his with a picture of deep longing, but it was incomplete, because only he could fill in the blanks._

_"Exactly, Love," the thoughts moved between them._

While their bathing suits floated away and sank in the depths of the pool, they carefully learned the feel of skin against skin.  Hands and mouths roamed and two minds joined, until neither could take it any longer, and Jonathan gave up the struggle to keep the pace slow.  In one swift movement he gripped T'Pol's thighs and wrapped her legs around him as he drove deep inside of her.  Her soft cries exploded around him and begged him for more.

In those hours that followed, something that had started out as a compromise between two world governments was forged forever into a union between two people. 

THE END

Please read and review.  Thanks, _Jen & Latte_


End file.
